Development and Standardization of “Childhood Victimization Identifier” Questionnaire

Background:  Child abuse is often a hidden phenomenon in India. Because of the stigma and prejudice attached with it, the victimized child is unable to freely seek necessary assistance in resolving the trauma. As a result, these unexpressed flashbacks create chaos in the physical, social and mental aspects of the child’s adult life. Aim: The current focus of the research is to devise and standardize an effective questionnaire to assess childhood abuse among adult survivors and also to examine the existing awareness about child abuse among non-victimized adult samples. Method: Through initial item generation and validation, 31 statements were retained and then administered to 100 samples (male:50; female:50) within 18-23 years of age for standardization. Results: Findings imply that 50% of the total sample claims of experiencing childhood abuse, with emotional abuse (31%) being the most prevalent form of abuse experienced by the adult (both male and female) as a child. Physical abuse was found to more predominantly among males, whereas females experienced more of sexual abuse. The questionnaire has an internal consistency of 0.758 with content validity. Conclusion: Childhood abuse should be addressed discretely because they tend to have differential effects on the child during adolescent and adult years.